Festive family adorn Bristol home with 20,000 Christmas lights display featuring reindeer, Santas and even a snow machine

Festive family adorn their home with 20,000 Christmas lights display featuring reindeer, Santas and even a snow machine
Twin brothers Paul and Lee Brailsford have decorated house for 16 yearsWallace and Gromit turned on 2012 display which costs 450 a day to run

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UPDATED:

13:07 GMT, 3 December 2012

A grandmother's semi-detached house has been transformed into a winter wonderland after her builder sons spent weeks decorating it with tens of thousands of Christmas lights.

This year, the 16th year running that the Paul and Lee Brailsford, 33, have decorated their mother's house, the display is even bigger and brighter after they bought lights worth thousands for just 700.

And the finishing touch is a 150 snow machine which pumps out dozens of litres of snow at the flick of a switch, blanketing the Bristol house and garden in minutes.

Worth every penny: Sienna Brailsford, 7, enjoys the 20,000 Christmas decorations at her grandmother's house in Bristol

Animated celebrities Wallace and Gromit turned on the lights in front of 1,000 people at the brick-built property in Brentry, Bristol, this weekend.

'I just love the fact that we are bringing the local community together. We have lived here since we were five and everyone has known us since we were small.

'Everyone loves seeing the lights, it gives them a real boost. Times are really hard at the moment: we are builders so we are really feeling it this year.

'But if we can bring a smile to people’s faces then it is a real inspiration to us.'

The brothers began decorating their 56-year-old mother Rosemary’s home in October this year with thousands of extra lights after stockpiling 700 of them in the New Year sales.

Up in lights: The Christmas display features a traditional religious stable scene with Mary and Joseph, as well as candles, snowmen, and plenty of reindeer

Months of preparation: Brothers Lee and Paul Brailsford said they had to put the decorations up in half the usual time this year because the weather has been so bad

The men have their own homes just a few doors down from their mother, but she hosts the display as she has the biggest house.

They spend months carefully putting up thousands of lights and lining the area with reindeer, snowmen and Santas.

A train is even fixed on to the roof of the house and outlined in twinkling rope lights.

Watch the electricity bill: Running the lights until the New Year will cost the Brailsfords 700

Guaranteed snow: Already more than 1,000 visitors have come to look at the Christmas scene by brothers Lee, left, and Paul Brailsford, shown here with Paul's children Sienna, seven, and Harrison, three

Dream come true: Paul Brailsford and son Harrison, three, enjoy the snow machine outside the house in Bristol

Lee said his boys Jordan, 14 and Liam, 11, and Paul’s children, Sienna, seven and Harrison, three, love seeing their grandmother's home covered in lights.

He added: 'It has been really hard this year as the weather has been so bad. We’ve literally had half the amount of time to set it up so it has been a rush.

'It does look fantastic though.'

The brothers began decorating their mother's house when they found some Christmas lights reduced in the January sales.

It has now become a local highlight with thousands of people visiting the display each year.

The brothers began raising money when they realised how popular the display was, and have now raised more than 12,000 for charity.

Lee said the display cost an extra 700 in electricity, running from 4.45pm until 10.15pm every day until January 2

The brothers raised 3,995.85 in charity buckets from their display last year for Wallace & Gromit's Cots for Tots Appeal at Southmead Hospital.